'It's changed my life' - Eckert on Spygate scandal

What the report says

Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert has spoken publicly for the first time since the Football Association handed him a six-week suspended ban and a £28,000 fine over the club’s “Spygate” case. In comments to BBC Sport at Southampton’s Staplewood training ground, the 33-year-old said the episode had been life-changing and described the long inquiry as difficult to navigate.

The case dates back to Southampton’s admission that they had monitored training sessions involving Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough before a Championship play-off semi-final. The club were expelled from the play-offs in May, while Eckert avoided an immediate individual ban after an FA investigation lasting more than four months. An independent commission gave him credit for what it called genuine contrition, reducing the punishment from the three-month ban the FA had sought.

Eckert said he had to decide over the summer whether he had the energy to continue leading the project at Southampton, and he thanked the club and people close to him for their support. He said the situation was now behind him and that the focus must return to performance and the team’s ambitions this season.

The ruling has not fully closed the matter, as the FA has yet to say whether it will appeal. Southampton next face Portsmouth in the south coast derby, a match that adds extra attention after a turbulent few months for the club.